1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with an improved harness assembly which can be worn by a person to allow the person to be otherwise secured via a seatbelt or other means. More particularly, the invention pertains to such harnesses which are preferably formed using a single continuous strap and appropriate connection/adjustment hardware. The harnesses of the invention can be used for children when on a parent""s lap in an automobile or airplane, or for medical patients who need to be securely restrained during transport.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of harness restraints for children or adults have been developed in the past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,028 describes a body harness used in a rescue situation in order to allow a person to be hoisted from a hazardous location. This harness includes straps which pass under the arms and legs of a person and are interconnected by a vertical strap. A hoist point at the upper end of the harness allows a person to be hoisted as necessary from a dangerous locale or because of injury. However, the harness of the ""028 patent is designed primarily for emergency situations and would not be comfortable to wear on a regular basis or for long, periods of time.
Additional harnesses are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,836,656, 5,628,548, 5,540,403, 4,488,691, 5,909,927, 4,618,186, 4,540,218, 3,480,325, and 4,758,048. However, to the extent that these harnesses provide adequate restraint and support for a person, they suffer from problems of excessive structural complexity and difficulty in donning the harnesses. On the other hand, the more simple harnesses of the prior art do not provide sufficient restraint.
One problem of particular interest to parents is that of safely securing a child in a parent""s lap during aircraft travel. Many airlines permit infants and small children to sit on a parent""s lap during travel. However, in the event of an emergency or during adverse weather, the child may not be adequately restrained. The simple expedient of extending the parent""s seat belt to encompass the child is not recommended, because these seatbelts are not designed for this purpose, and in fact the practice is not legal for air travel. A number of the aforementioned patents address this problem, but not in any satisfactory way.
There is accordingly a need in the art for a simplified, low-cost harness assembly which can be readily placed on a person and which provides support for essentially the entire trunk of the person while also permitting ready attachment of conventional standard seatbelts to the harness.
The present invention overcomes the problems outlined above and provides an improved harness assembly adapted to be worn on a person""s trunk. Broadly speaking, the harness of the invention includes an anchor member adapted to be placed adjacent either the person""s trunk front or back, together with first and second strap segments coupled with the anchor member and extending upwardly over the person""s shoulders and then downwardly in crossing relationship adjacent the other side of the person""s trunk opposite the anchor member to respective juncture regions on opposite sides of the person""s trunk. Third and fourth strap segments are operatively coupled with the first and second segments at the juncture regions, with the third and fourth segments extending to and operatively coupled with the anchor member. Finally, fifth and sixth strap segments are also operatively coupled to the first and second segments at the respective juncture regions, with the fifth and sixth strap segments extending downwardly through the person""s crotch and then upwardly for connection thereof at the juncture regions.
In preferred forms, the harness is made up of only a single, unitary, non-segmented strap. The strap is threaded through the anchor member and supports side buckles which define the aforementioned juncture regions, with the fifth and sixth segments extending through the person""s crotch and upwardly for connection to the side buckles. The fifth and sixth segments are also equipped with adjustment buckles allowing proper fit of the harness onto the person.